Formula 1's obscene prize pot: a season's purse surpasses $2.5B, and a single driver can pocket about $70M
Champions in many sports often become champions in earnings as well. In Formula 1, the season's prize fund is a financial behemoth — more than $2.5 billion overall. About half of that money goes to investors and organizers; the other half, roughly $1.57 billion, is paid out to the top 10 finishers.
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How the prize money is distributed: fixed shares for the top 10 teams
The top 10 finishers share the remaining prize money according to a fixed scale: 1st place receives 14%, 2nd 13.1%, 3rd 12.2%, 4th 11.3%, 5th 10.4%, 6th 9.5%, 7th 8.7%, 8th 7.8%, 9th 6.9%, and 10th 6.0%. In many seasons, the purse grows rather than shrinks.
Ferrari’s historic payout and Red Bull’s 2023 windfall
There is also a historical component: Ferrari reportedly receives about 5% of the prize money as a kind of ‘historic’ payout, taken from the pool before distribution. In concrete terms, the 2023 champion Red Bull team earned about $140 million, and one of its drivers, Max Verstappen, earned $45 million in prize money plus $25 million in bonuses, becoming the world’s highest-paid driver.
Football’s vast prize money: club tournaments and Euro 2024 paydays
Football remains the most popular sport globally, and its prize money reflects that scale. The Champions League prize fund for the 2023/2024 season was about $2.2 billion, while Euro 2024 carried a prize fund of €331 million. Just reaching the group stage of Euro 2024 yielded €9.25 million per team, and every win or draw adds more money as teams progress toward knockout rounds.
